7 biggest mistakes forestry people make when searching for jobs 2014 by Nick Reynish

The

7 Biggest Mistakes

Forestry people make when searching for jobs And how to avoid making the same mistakes with your career

By Nick Reynish

The 7 Biggest Mistakes Forestry people make when searching for jobs - and how to avoid making the same mistakes with your career.

First published in Australia in 2013

Copyright ÂŠ 2013 by Nick Reynish. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, altered, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any or by any means (electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of the book.

Cover design by Janine Marace Text edited and prepared for publication by Richard L. Sine Author photo by Andrew Campbell

Disclaimer: Before speaking about the huge benefits and tricks of the trade using the Internet and World Wide Web to help leverage your career, I wish to make a few disclaimers: i. One of the limitations of writing about the Internet is that ideas and web technology are constantly changing, and some functionalities may be different from my descriptions. Internet content changes at an even greater rate. ii. Screen shots have not been included in this book for the very reason of change. However, as you will discover, finding visual instruction is as easy as typing into a search engine what you are seeking. You quickly can discover updates with web video tutorials and relevant screen shots. iii. There will be every endeavour to publish updates to this book regularly, with changes made that are deemed necessary from time to time. iv. Although the author has made every effort to ensure that the information in this booklet is correct at the time of publication, the author does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Table of contents 5

Introduction

Mistake 1: Not having patience

Mistake 2: Invest in yourself

Mistake 3: Not creating an online profile

Mistake 4: Not using LinkedIn to its fullest

10 Mistake 5: Don’t hang around with people who won’t get you 11 Mistake 6: Don’t be afraid to demonstrate your qualities 12 Mistake 7: It’s important not to be unorganised 13 Summary

Introduction Everyone has a different perspective of success; it can come in the form of financial or personal growth in relative means. But, to you and me, and most people who give a damn, it’s important to take the right steps to secure a good job and career that you enjoy. I have been told by many people and know myself that if you love what you do you will do very well at it. Having a passion for anything will bring about the best of a person, people will want to be part of that person’s environment, service, or company; it’s infectious right? Ever wondered how these sorts of people make it? These 7 Mistakes Forestry people make when searching for a job, give good indication of the important steps to take to build your platform upon which to grow your career. Happy Reading!

Mistake

Not having patience Failure to realise that online strategies do take some time to implement. When you hear of people who have ”made it” online, and in the real world in a financial sense, more often than not it hasn’t happened just by filling out a registration form! Learning the right strategies from the right people is vital. Job hunting can take some time and it pays to get this started by keeping all your profiles regularly updated, even if you are currently not in that position of seeking employment; tomorrow you may be. The key to this message is don’t give up before you have started! If it all seems too hard, don’t despair! If it were easy, everybody would be making loads of money and have the job or business of his or her dreams. You have to start somewhere and it might as well be here and now.

“

Action is the foundational key to all success.

- Pablo Picasso

If you have no idea where to start – now is a good time. Do some research and find out what you have to do even if it’s the bare minimum. It’s still better than nothing at all. Have some patience and by taking the following steps, over time you will reap the rewards of a successful career.

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Mistake

Don’t get left behind by letting your skill set lapse Ignoring investing in yourself either in education or by simply upgrading your skills with a course is a mistake you shouldn’t be making. Know your strengths and invest in them.

Employers love to employ someone, over and above other candidates, who have prior and up-to-date training and qualifications; it will highlight their name on the list of ”potentials” for that job you are chasing. Even if the course is a ”refresher,” it shows that you are serious and proactive about your career, and this is sure to impress. Not only will it ‘open doors’, for you, you will actually enjoy the process of engagement. You will meet new people on a similar journey, and it will give you confidence when putting yourself forward for a job. This forward thinking not only applies to job hunters, but also business owners in a sense. A business or sole trader with the best technology and equipment and the know how to use and implement well is more likely to ”get the job” over the competition.

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Mistake

Not creating an online profile No or little social media interaction in today’s times can be a costly mistake, especially when half of the world’s population is online and around 11 million people are engaged in forestry around the globe. When you are positioning yourself for career growth or strategic job placement, you must have your profile set up in as many credible social media platforms as possible. This will help you connect with contacts who can refer you to the right people in order to help you hunt that elusive job or, they may be able to assist you with the necessary networks to move up in your chosen field. Some of the top social media sites in which to register if you haven’t already done so are:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Google + VisualCV YouTube

Of course, you will always need a good, old-fashioned paper version. Once your online CV is updated it’s as easy as clicking on the print button if you need to take something to an interview. Remember that most employers these days will do a Google search on you before an interview. If you ‘Google well’ and you are regularly updating your profiles, posting newsworthy articles or involved in educated chat, then your potential boss will have all the ‘good oil’ on you before you even walk through the door … thus pre-selling yourself.

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Mistake

Not using LinkedIn to its fullest Today, LinkedIn is the most powerful social media business tool on the web. As a professional person or person with a professional career in mind, it is essential to get on, register, build your profile, and interact with like-minded people. Ultimately, you want to get noticed and attract the right people for the right reasons. This can be achieved by completing these basics; and LinkedIn has very easy procedures and prompts to help guide you through. Some key takeaways to help you get noticed that LinkedIn doesn’t promote are: • Get a professional headshot, or if this is out of your current budget, get someone to take one in a professional environment in your best work attire, whatever that may be! • Get as many well written and credible testimonials as you can, at the very minimum start with 2-3. If it’s from a past employer or a colleague, this is very important in any scene whether it’s a website or a product. People instantly will get a better perspective and will help increase your pre-saleability. • Once you have added in your credentials, experience, awards, and opening bio, and LinkedIn tells you your profile is 100% complete, it’s now time to start connecting with people. I recommend setting aside at least an hour per week and search for people in your industry specifically. Certainly it’s fine to connect with old school and university friends, but ultimately you need to start searching for people with whom you can network and leverage your position. Don’t be afraid to contact someone who you think may be able to help you and ask them to meet for a coffee for a ‘face to face’. It could be an expensive coffee, however, if they are in a different country! • It does take some time to connect directly with people. You can ask to be referred or connect over time by connecting to people closely related in your field. You will learn about this after some time spent in the portal. Remember also that people are busy and get busy, so if they don’t reply to you straight away and it’s a credible and reasonable request or message, they should and normally get back to you in time. • When sending a message or connection request, remember always to send a personal message. People are more likely to want to connect with you if you personalise the message and to back up your humanbeing believability so they don’t suspect an automated or computer-generated origin.

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Mistake

Don’t hang around with people who won’t get you Know the right people with whom to hang around– invest time in doing this, it will get you places. Remember the old saying, “it’s often not what you know, but who you know.” This can be easy for those who have a natural ability to squeeze themselves into the right circles socially and a challenge for those who are slightly more reserved and shy in social integration. Either which way you look at it, it’s important to get to know the people who are influential in your sector and industry. This is not a race to the top but merely a way of helping you get ahead in your career. Leaders recognise good talent and if you are positioned well in a network of influencers, then opportunities will flow your way in no time. Key take away points here are: • • • •

Do your research and find out who the key people are to approach. Ask to catch up for a coffee at a mutual location. Be prepared, ask the right questions, listen and take notes. If you find yourself getting nowhere and there has been nothing significant has come from a meeting, ask for a referral to whom might be able to help you. • If you get invited to join the next AGM of a company or even just a social end-of-week catch up at the pub, be sure to do your background work on the business, these catch ups can generally be “work talk” and you need to be able to chime in on conversation and impress potential referees or work mates. • If you find these meetings are not working for you, keep trying different angles. The computer and World Wide Web are there for the taking and social media is now an excellent tool in which to get noticed and invited to circles. Join a club or organisation that you know people in your industry belong, make this process easy for yourself by knowing your capabilities.

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Mistake

Don’t be afraid to demonstrate your qualities Modesty is a great quality to have, but in business circles it may not get you far. Remember that no one is perfect in every sense, but individuals and, yes, including YOU, have many things at which they are good at. Focus on your good attributes and promote them, run your own personal marketing campaign! Some people have no problem telling their friends and colleagues how good they are and the large proportion, meaning the rest of us, find it difficult to do this because it generally means having to back it up at some point by actually proving it! Know your capabilities, make sure you can ‘walk your talk’, and all of a sudden you are an expert in your field! Make sure you follow these basics to avoid embarrassment. 1. Know at which you excel, some people find it hard to find these qualities, if you are one of these people, ask. Ask your family members and friends, they will quickly tell you. 2. Listen to them and make sure you are comfortable with and recognise your good marketable qualities. 3. Skill up and learn more about the area of your expertise. Even if it means becoming qualified in the particular area, it will help your confidence and give people assurance they want to engage with you. 4. Don’t talk about your bad qualities, if asked. Be brief but don’t intentionally bring them up in conversation. 5. Act naturally and confidentially and prospective employers will see an honest, credible person who is good at what they and can actually produce a positive outcome from it.

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Mistake

It’s important not to be unorganised Being organised is a favourable quality to have; employers and businesses notice it very quickly. Being organised for a job interview has impressive benefits and this doesn’t just mean turning up on time! Having you files in order and your interviews and meetings prepared for and written down a week in advance can make set for a relaxed and confident you when turning up to appointments. Probably the biggest advantages of being organised are:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Creating less stress – you will not worry about doing tasks at the last minute. You will have more time to do the things you want. Being unorganised can create bad habits. Bad habits can attract the wrong people and can get you into a poor state of mind.

My biggest take away to leading an organised life is making lists, I do this every night before going to bed so I know exactly what I need to do the next day. Once each job is completed, I cross off the list, which gives me a feeling of satisfaction of completion and you can see what you have achieved even on a generally unproductive day. Everyone has different meanings of productivity and that is why it’s important to make your lists personal. Don’t compare with colleagues too much because we all have our own ways of GSD (Getting Stuff Done), just as long as it works for you is the most important thing. I love Richard Branson’s quotes and methods of GSD, this is one of my favourites: “I have always lived my life by making lists. These vary from lists of people to call, lists of ideas, lists of companies to set up, lists of people who can make things happen. I also have lists of topics to blog about, lists of tweets to send, and lists of upcoming plans. Each day I work through these lists, and it is by ticking off each task that my ideas take shape and plans move forward. As the New Year gets started, lots of you will be busy making resolutions. If you want to stick to them, I suggest making them into lists. Here are my top 10 tips for making lists” 1. Write down every single idea you have, no matter how big or small 2. Always carry a notebook 3. Find a list method that works for you. Doodles, bullet-points, charts – what suits you best? 4. Make a list of small, manageable tasks to complete every day 5. Mark off every completed task – you’ll find making each tick very satisfying 6. Make your goals measurable so you know if your plans are working 7. Set far off, outlandish goals. What do you want to have achieved by 2020? How about 2050? 8. Include personal goals in your lists, not just business 9. Share your goals with others. You can help motivate each other further. 10. Celebrate your successes – then make new lists of a new goal. By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group

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Summary: By creating some discipline in your routines and working on your concentration levels to avoid not having patience, you will have more clarity and vision. Invest in yourself to aid in your career development. Personal investment may come in the form of education, course refreshers, or holistic development, all of which have the ability to increase your chances of ‘climbing the ladder’. However, by not creating an online profile, you will decrease your options and chances of getting headhunted because todays busy business and social worlds rely heavily on online interaction. One of the more powerful online and professional profile connecting sites is LinkedIn, and by not using LinkedIn to its fullest you are doing yourself a disservice. When all of what I have explained here is FREE to implement, it’s only your time you have to consider when making the decision to GSD. If you value your future, supporting your family or building your empire, whatever is most important to you, you should not hesitate to make the commitment. Both offline and on, it’s important to mix with the right people if you are serious about career advancement. Don’t hang around with people who won’t get you, meaning that if you had ambitions to become a professional baseball player you wouldn’t be trying to hang out with soccer players, would you? Install some self-confidence and don’t be afraid to demonstrate your qualities, everyone has them, it’s up to you to find yours if you haven’t already. Lastly, and probably most credibly, it’s important not to be unorganised. This bad trait can be picked up quickly by an employer and potentially can be the ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’ when trying to hold down a job or position that requires this quality. By going online at least once a week, making necessary profile updates, by posting some newsworthy events, mixing with the right people, showing your true colours, and being efficient and organised, it will ensure you are not left floundering and scrambling last minute when you have put yourself under pressure to find an income. Visit http://www.nickreynish.com to read more articles about the forestry business and career development. If you’re still not satisfied, get the book at http://www.woodchiptosiliconchip.com that answers in-depth questions to what’s been covered in this booklet.

About the Author Nick Reynish is a successful Author, Forestry Advocate and Entrepreneur, he has extensive experience in people management and web based technology. After moving on from the Agriculture sector in 2005 his primary focus has been in the Sustainable Forestry Industry. If you have any questions, feedback or would like to book a consult, feel free to get in touch nick@forestryconnect.com Alternatively, you can connect on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Need more reading? Visit the website http://woodchiptosiliconchip.com/

“Wood Chip to Silicon Chip is an invaluable resource for leaders working in the forest industry, who are looking to understand and get real results..” Kylie Bartlett – Social Media Strategist, Speaker, Author

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